Downton Abbey, much to the devastation of fans everywhere, is ending after six seasons. The popular British drama had become a staple in many homes over the past few years. In fact, the show has been so popular that the Guardian reports it recently won Best Drama[1] at the National Television Awards (NTAs). According to show creator Julian Fellowes, the award was a happy ending for them all.
"I love happy endings and this is a very happy ending, thank you."
Some of our fabulous cast and production team at the @OfficialNTAs last night. #Downton pic.twitter.com/o2biNtdLTz[2][3][4]
— Downton Abbey (@DowntonAbbey) January 21, 2016[5]
Backstage at the NTAs it was clear how excited the cast and show creators were.
But now that Downton Abbey is over, where do things go from here? Certainly that isn't really it for fans of the show? Fellowes recently spoke with Digital Spy about the prospect of a Downton Abbey movie[6]. He made it clear he was totally up for making a movie.
"I'm completely up for a movie. I'd love to do a movie. It would be very, very good fun. There's all sorts of things that have to be settled – not least of which is the decision of when we'd make it. I'm up for it! The percentage chance is about 64.5."
In other words, there is no guarantee, but fans of Downton Abbey will just have to accept that for now because it's all they've got. This includes the Duchess of Cambridge, who is such a big fan of the show that she visited the set last March. Kate's visit to the set was a big deal for the cast, and the Daily Mail reports that Joanne Froggatt (who plays Anna Bates[7]) spoke about the experience when on Conan O'Brien's talk show last week.
Kate Middleton's Downton Abbey visit: Joanne Froggatt reveals her embarrassing m… https://t.co/ElSEuEl0eY pic.twitter.com/2a47Yt9hV4[8][9]
— Paparazzi NewYork (@newyorkpapaz) January 23, 2016[10]
It seems that when speaking to the Duchess, Froggatt said something really racy to her during a conversation. After Froggatt and Michelle Dockery (who plays Lady Mary Crawley) has finished filming a scene in Lady Mary's bedroom, Kate came over and said hi. Since she was on the set, Kate remarked how strange it was to be in Lady Mary's bedroom.
"It feels strange being in your bedroom."
At that, Froggatt said she made what seemed to be an innocent remark at the time, but afterward, she realized what she had said.
"I said, 'Yeah, not many people get to come in Lady Mary's bedroom.' And then I was like, 'Oh my god. What have I just said? I've just totally said something that could be taken really the wrong way!' And I thought, 'Do I say? Do I draw attention to it?'"
Check out the interview.
Even if there is a movie in Downton Abbey's future, it won't replace the void left behind from the television show. Even in small communities in the U.S., women have been enjoying the show every week. This is true of one group of women in Racine, Wisconsin, who the Journal Times reports, have gotten together every Sunday evening for six years to watch Downton Abbey together[11].
Early group member Jeralyn Mulkey said it started as a girl's movie night and blossomed into watching Downton Abbey. Mulkey said the group of women would enjoy trying to determine what would happen next.
"We like figuring out what is going to happen next, and we enjoy the zingers that cousin Violet [the Dowager Countess of Grantham and matriarch of the Crawley family] puts out. We try to figure out which one will be the quote of the day."
As for Froggatt, now that Downton Abbey is done, the Hollywood Reporter reveals she will be taking on a new and very different role in the upcoming PBS miniseries Dark Angel, in which she will play real-life serial killer Mary Ann Cotton[12].
Joanne Froggatt To Play A Victorian Serial Killer In Dark Angel #TV https://t.co/yozLWSdnls pic.twitter.com/8qUZJL94FO[13][14][15]
— VOICE OF TV (@voiceoftv) January 22, 2016[16]
That is a very different role, indeed!
[Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images]
References
- ^ won Best Drama (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ @OfficialNTAs (twitter.com)
- ^ #Downton (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/o2biNtdLTz (t.co)
- ^ January 21, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ Downton Abbey movie (www.digitalspy.com)
- ^ Anna Bates (ww w.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ https://t.co/ElSEuEl0eY (t.co)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/2a47Yt9hV4 (t.co)
- ^ January 23, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ watch Downton Abbey together (journaltimes.com)
- ^ serial killer Mary Ann Cotton (www.hollywoodreporter.com)
- ^ #TV (twitter.com)
- ^ https://t.co/yozLWSdnls (t.co)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/8qUZJL94FO (t.co)
- ^ January 22, 2016 (twitter.com)
